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John Gay
John Gay (30 June 1685 - 4 December 1732) was an English poet and playwright, a member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera (1728), which made its author's name a household word.Henry Austin Dobson, "Gay, John (1685-1732),: Dictionary of National Biography, London: Smith, Elder, 1890, 21, 83. Wikisource, Web, Jan. 16, 2018. Life Overview Gay was born near Barnstaple of a good but decayed family. His parents dying while he was a child he was apprenticed to a silk-mercer in London, but not liking the trade, was released by his master. In 1708 he published a poem, Wine, and in 1713 Rural Sports, which he dedicated to Pope, whose friendship he obtained. A little before this he had received an appointment as secretary in the household of the Duchess of Monmouth. His next attempts were in the drama, in which he was not at first successful; but about 1714 he made his 1st decided hit in The Shepherd's Week, a set of 6 pastorals designed to satirise Ambrose Philips, which, however, secured public approval on their own merits. These were followed by Trivia (1716), in which he was aided by Swift, an account in mock heroic verse of the dangers of the London streets, and by The Fan. Gay had always been ambitious of public employment, and his aspirations were gratified by his receiving the appointment of secretart to an embassy to Hanover, which, however, he appears to have resigned in a few months. He then returned to the drama in What d'ye call It and Three Hours after Marriage, neither of which, however, took the public fancy. In 1720 he published a collection of his poems, which brought him £1000, but soon after lost all his means in the collapse of the South Sea Company. After producing another drama, The Captive, he published his Fables (1727), which added to his reputation, and soon after, in 1728, achieved the great success of his life in The Beggar's Opera: A Newgate pastoral, suggested by Swift, in which the graces and fantasticalities of the Italian Opera were satirised. A sequel, Polly, was suppressed by the Lord Chamberlain as reflecting upon the Court, but was published and had an enormous sale. The last few years of his life were passed in the household of the Duke of Queensberry, who had always been his friend and patron. He died after 3 days' illness, aged 47. Gay was an amiable, easy-going man, who appears to have had the power of attracting the strong attachments of his friends, among whom were Pope and Swift. He seems to have been 1 of the very few for whom the latter had a sincere affection. He is buried in Westminster Abbey. Of all he has written he is best remembered by a few songs, of which the finest is "Black-eyed Susan."John William Cousin, "Gay, John," A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature, 1910, 153-154. Web, Jan. 16, 2018. Youth Gay was baptized on 16 September 1685 at Barnstaple, where his family had long been settled. He was educated at the grammar school of the town under Robert Luck, who had published some Latin and English poems. On leaving school he was apprenticed to a silk merchant in London, but being weary, according to Dr. Johnson, "of either the restraint or the servility of his occupation," he soon returned to Barnstaple, where he spent some time with his uncle, Rev. John Hanmer, the Nonconformist minister of the town.Britannica 1911, 11, 540. Career He then returned to London, and though no details are available for his biography until the publication of Wine in 1708, the account he gives in Rural Sports (1713), of years wasted in attending on courtiers who were profuse in promises never kept, may account for his occupations. Among his early literary friends were Aaron Hill and Eustace Budgell. In The Present State of Wit (1711) Gay attempted to give an account of "all our periodical papers, whether monthly, weekly or diurnal." He especially praised the Tatler and the Spectator, and Swift, who knew nothing of the authorship of the pamphlet, suspected it to be inspired by Steele and Addison. To Lintot’s Miscellany (1712) Gay contributed "An Epistle to Bernard Lintot," containing some lines in praise of Pope, and a version of the story of Arachne from the 6th book of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. In the same year he was received into the household of the duchess of Monmouth as secretary, a connexion which was, however, broken before June 1714. The dedication of his Rural Sports (1713) to Pope was the beginning of a lasting friendship. Gay could have no pretensions to rivalry with Pope, who seems never to have tired of helping his friend. In 1713 Gay produced a comedy, The Wife of Bath, which was acted only 3 nights, and The Fan, one of his least successful poems; and in 1714 The Shepherd’s Week, a series of 6 pastorals drawn from English rustic life. Pope had urged him to undertake this last task in order to ridicule the Arcadian pastorals of Ambrose Philips, who had been praised by the Guardian, to the neglect of Pope’s claims as the pre-eminent pastoral writer of the age and the true English Theocritus. Gay’s pastorals completely achieved this object, but his ludicrous pictures of the English swains and their loves were found to be abundantly entertaining on their own account. Gay had just been appointed secretary to the British ambassador to the court of Hanover through the influence of Jonathan Swift, when the death of Queen Anne 3 months later put an end tohis hopes of official employment. In 1715, probably with some help from Pope, he produced What d'ye call it? a dramatic skit on contemporary tragedy, with special reference to Otway’s Venice Preserved. It left the public so ignorant of its real meaning that Lewis Theobald and Benjamin Griffin (1680-1740) published a Complete Key to what d'ye call it by way of explanation. In 1716 appeared his Trivia; or, The art of walking the streets of London, a poem in 3 books, for which he acknowledged having received several hints from Swift. It contains graphic and humoros descriptions of the London of that period. In January 1717 he produced the comedy of Three Hours after Marriage, which was grossly indecent without being amusing, and was a complete failure. There is no doubt that in this piece he had assistance from Pope and Arbuthnot, but they were glad enough to have it assumed that Gay was the sole author. Gay had numerous patrons, and in 1720 he published Poems on Several Occasions by subscription, realizing £1000 or more. In that year James Craggs, the secretary of state, presented him with some South Sea stock. Gay, disregarding the prudent advice of Pope and other friends, invested everything in South Sea stock, and, holding on to the end, he lost everything. The shock is said to have made him dangerously ill. As a matter of fact Gay had always been a spoilt child, who expected everything to be done for him. His friends did not fail him at this juncture. He had patrons in William Pulteney, afterwards earl of Bath, in the 3rd earl of Burlington, who constantly entertained him at Chiswick or at Burlington House, and in the 3rd earl of Queensberry. He was a frequent visitor with Pope, and received unvarying kindness from Congreve and Arbuthnot. In 1724 he produced a tragedy called The Captives. In 1727 he wrote for Prince William, afterwards duke of Cumberland, his famous Fifty-one Fables in Verse, for which he naturally hoped to gain some preferment, although he has much to say in them of the servility of courtiers and the vanity of court honors. He was offered the situation of gentleman-usher to the Princess Louisa, who was still a child. He refused this offer, which all his friends seem to have regarded, for no very obvious reason, as an indignity. As the Fables were written for the amusement of one royal child, there would appear to have been a measure of reason in giving him a sinecure in the service of another. His friends thought him unjustly neglected by the court, but he had already received (1722) a sinecure as lottery commissioner with a salary of £150 a year, and from 1722 to 1729 he had lodgings in the palace at Whitehall. He had never rendered any special services to the court.Britannica 1911, 11, 541. He certainly did nothing to conciliate the favor of the government by his next production, the Beggars' Opera, a lyrical drama produced on 29 January 1728 by Rich, in which Sir Robert Walpole was caricatured. This famous piece, which was said to have made "Rich gay and Gay rich," was an innovation in many respects, and for a time it drove Italian opera off the English stage. Part of its success may have been due to the acting of Lavinia Fenton, afterwards duchess of Bolton, in the part of Polly Peachum. The play ran for 62 nights (though the representations, 4 of which were "benefits" of the author, were not, as has sometimes been stated, consecutive). He wrote a sequel, Polly, the representation of which was forbidden by the lord chamberlain, no doubt through the influence of Walpole. This act of "oppression" caused no loss to Gay. It proved an excellent advertisement for Polly, which was published by subscription in 1729, and brought its author more than £1000. The duchess of Queensberry was dismissed from court for enlisting subscribers in the palace. The duke of Queensberry gave him a home, and the duchess continued her affectionate patronage until Gay's death, which took place on 4 December 1732. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Writing Under cover of the thieves and highwaymen who figured in the Beggars Opera was disguised a satire on society, for Gay made it plain that in describing the moral code of his characters he had in mind the corruptions of the governing class. Swift is said to have suggested the subject, and Pope and Arbuthnot were constantly consulted while the work was in progress, but Gay must be regarded as the sole author. The Fables, slight as they may appear, cost him more labour than any of his other works. The narratives are in nearly every case original, and are told in clear and lively verse. The moral which rounds off each little story is never strained. They are masterpieces in their kind, and the very numerous editions of them prove their popularity. They have been translated into Latin, French, Italian, Urdu, and Bengali. Of Gay's works the Beggar's Opera and the Fables are best known. Next to these come Trivia and the Shepherd's Week, which must always retain a certain value for their touches of folklore and their social details. As a song-writer Gay is very successful, his faculty in this way being greatly aided by his knowledge of music (cf. Warton, Pope, 1797, i. 149). Of his Epistles the brightest is that imitating Canto 46 of the Orlando Furioso, in which he welcomes Pope's return from Troy (i.e. when he had completed his translation of the Iliad’), and it deserves mention as an example of ottava rima earlier than Tennant, Frere, or Byron. It was first printed in Additions to the Works of Pope George Steevens?, 1776, i. 94–103. There is also a certain Hogarthian vigor in the eclogue called "The Birth of the Squire." But those who to-day read his life will probably wonder at his poetical reputation even in his own time, although it is impossible to deny to him the honour of adding several well-known quotations (e.g. "While there's life there's hope," and "Dearest friends must part") to the current common-places of what his contemporaries dignified by the title of "polite conversation."Dobson, 90. Adis and Galatea, an English pastoral opera, the music of which was written by Handel, was produced at the Haymarket in 1732. The profits of his posthumous opera of Achilles (1733), and a new volume of Fables (1738) went to his two sisters, who inherited from him a fortune of X6000. He left 2 other pieces, The Distressed Wife (1743), a comedy, and The Rehearsal at Goatham (1754), a farce. Critical introduction by Henry Austin Dobson Gay appears to have been one of those easy-tempered, indolent, irresponsible good-creatures, whose lot in this world would probably be either pitiful or tragic, if a beneficent Fate did not provide them with charitable friends who watch over them with almost parental solicitude. Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, Bolingbroke, seem to have cherished a genuine affection for him; and in later life the Duke and Duchess of Queensbury received him into their house, and took care both of the helpless poet and his money. His 1st poem, Rural Sports, though it contains some happy descriptive passages, is of the "toujours bien, jamais mieux" order of performance. Its dedication, however, procured him the friendship of Pope. The Shepherd’s Week, his next effort, was in fact suggested by Pope, who, fresh from his covert attack in the Guardian (Monday, April 27, 1713) on the sham pastoral of Ambrose Philips, foresaw what powerful assistance Gay’s observant humour and knowledge of the country would furnish to his cause. The rustic life was to be depicted with the gilt off, and "the right simple Eclogue" essayed "after the true ancient guise of Theocritus." "Thou wilt not find my Shepherdesses," says the author’s proem, :idly piping upon oaten Reeds, but milking the Kine, tying up the Sheaves, or, if the Hogs are astray, driving them to their Styes. My Shepherd gathereth none other Nosegays but what are the growth of our own Fields; he sleepeth not under Myrtle shades, but under a Hedge; nor doth he vigilantly defend his Flocks from Wolves, because there are none." Like Fielding’s novel of Joseph Andrews, the execution of The Shepherd’s Week was far superior to its avowed object of mere ridicule. In spite of their barbarous ‘Bumkinets’ and ‘Grubbinols,’ Gay’s eclogues abound with interesting folk-lore and closely-studied rural pictures. We see the country-girl burning hazel-nuts to find her sweet-heart, or presenting the faithless Colin with a knife with a ‘posy’ on it, or playing ‘Hot Cockles,’ or listening to Gillian of Croydon and Patient Grissel. There are also sly strokes of kindly satire, as when the shepherds are represented fencing the grave of Blouzelinda against the prospective inroads of the parson’s horse and cow, which have the right of grazing in the churchyard; or when that dignitary, in consideration of the liberal sermon-fee, :‘Spoke the Hour-glass in her praise — quite out.’ These little touches (and there are a hundred more) make us sure that we are reading no mere caricature; but that the country-life of that age of Queen Anne, which her poet loyally declares to be the only ‘Golden Age,’ is truly and faithfully brought before us. The Shepherd’s Week was followed by Trivia, for which, the preface tells us, the author received several hints from Swift, with whose City Shower it has affinities. It is a lively and humourous description of the London streets circa 1716, and has an antiquarian as well as a poetical value. The farce of The What d’ye Call It contains the musical ballad ‘’Twas when the seas were roaring,’ which we quote. Gay’s only other important work (for the Beggar’s Opera does not come within our limits) is the Fables, which in 1726 he prepared for the edification of the young Duke of Cumberland. As a fabulist he is easy and colloquial; and his work is distinguished by good-humour and good-sense; but he fails to reach the happy negligence and the supreme art of La Fontaine. "The Hare and many Friends" is a fair sample of his manner; and it is of additional interest as being in some measure a personal utterance, though the records of his life show that, in spite of his disappointments of court favour, he seldom failed in finding a Monmouth or a Burlington to soothe his wounded feelings. Moreover, the profits from his works, which enabled him, in spite of losses, to die worth £6000, could not have been inconsiderable. The Fables are Gay’s most extensive effort. His remaining works consist of Epistles, Town Eclogues, Tales, and Miscellaneous Pieces. The Epistles are sprightly and familiar. One of them, "A Welcome from Greece," addressed to Pope on his having finished his translation of the Iliad, has an unexpected vivacity and lyric movement. It is in an ottava-rima earlier than Frere or Byron; and exhibits the poet’s contemporaries assembling to greet him after his six years’ toil. Prior, Congreve, Steele, Chandos, Bathurst,—few of the illustrious names of the age are absent. Nor are the other sex unrepresented:— ‘What lady’s that, to whom he gently bends? Who knows not her? ah! those are Wortley’s eyes! How art thou honoured, numbered with her friends! For she distinguishes the good and wise. The sweet-tongued Murray near her side attends; Now to my heart the glance of Howard flies; Now Hervey, fair of face, I mark full well, With thee, Youth’s youngest daughter, sweet Lepell.’ As to Gay’s Town Eclogues, they are neither better nor worse than Lady Mary’s own; and probably had a like origin, ridicule of Ambrose Philips. His Tales have the indelicacy but not the grace of Prior’s. Of his songs and ballads, that of "Sweet William’s Farewell to Black-Eyed Susan" is too well-known to need description; and too great a favourite to be omitted from any anthology. "Damon and Cupid" and "The Lady’s Lamentation" are other examples of that singing faculty which Gay possessed in so marked a degree, and which contributed so triumphantly to the success of the Beggar’s Opera.from Henry Austin Dobson, "Critical Introduction: John Gay (1685–1732)," The English Poets: Selections with critical introductions (edited by Thomas Humphry Ward). New York & London: Macmillan, 1880-1918. Web, Feb. 19, 2016. Recognition Gay was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey. A monument to him was erected on the south wall, but was moved to the triflorium (where it cannot be seen by viitors) in the 1930's. The epitaph on the monument is by Pope, and is followed by Gay's own mocking couplet: :Life is a jest, and all things show it, :I thought so once, and now I know it.John Gay, People, History, Westminster Abbey. Web, July 11, 2016. There are portraits of Gay by Dahl (Countess Delawarr's), Zincke, Hogarth, and others. In the National Portrait Gallery is an unfinished sketch in oils by Sir Godfrey Kneller, which has been etched for the ‘Parchment Library’ by Mr. H. A. Willis. Another and a better known portrait, belonging to Lord Scarsdale, and painted by Kneller's follower, William Aikman, was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1887–8. It shows him in a blue cap and coat, and is said to have been praised by contemporaries for its fidelity. It was engraved by F. Milvius F. Kyte. Last in order comes the portrait by Richardson, dated 12 Aug. 1732, exhibited by Viscountess Clifden at South Kensington in 1867.Dobson, 89. His "Song (O ruddier than the cherry)" was included in the Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900."Song (O ruddier than the cherry)", Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900 (edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch). Oxford, UK: Clarendon, 1919. Bartleby.com, Web, May 5, 2012. Publications Poetry *''Wine: A poem. London: William Keble, 1708. *''Rural Sports: A poem. London: Jacob Tonson, 1713. *''The Shepherd's Week: In six pastorals''. London: Ferd. Burleigh, 1714. *''Trivia; or, The art of walking the streets of London. London: Bernard Lintott, 1716. *''Poems on Several Occcasions. London: J. Tonson & B. Lintot, 1720. *''To a Lady: On her passion for old china. London: Jacob Tonson, 1725. *''Fables (51 fables). London: Jacob Tonson & J. Watt, 1727. **''Fables in Two Parts'' (with 16 new fables). London: D. Cochran, 1738. **''Fables by the Late Mr. Gay: A new edition, in one volume complete. London: J.F. & C. Rivington, B. & B. White, T. Longman, B. Law, G.G.J. & J. Robinson et al, 1792 **(edited by W.H.K. Wright & William Harvey). London & New York: F. Warne, 1889 ****also publihed in ''Gay's Fables, and other poems / Cotton's visions in verse / Moore's Fables for the female sex (with Nathaniel Cotton & Edward Moore). London: J.F. Dove, 1826. *''The Poetical Works of John Gay: Including his fables''. (3 volumes), Edinburgh: Apollo Press, by the Martins, 1777. *''The Poems of John Gay''. London: J. Buckland, 1790. *''Poems of John Gay'' (edited by John Underhill). London: Routledge, 1893. *''The Poetical Works'' (edited by John Underhill). (2 volumes), London: Lawrence & Bullen / New York: Scribner, 1893. Volume I, Volume II Plays *''The Mohocks: A tragi-comical farce''. London: Bernard Lintott, 1712. *''The Wife of Bath: A comedy''. London: Bernard Lintott, 1713. *''The What D'ye Call It: A tragi-comi-pastoral farce. London: Bernard Lintott, 1715. *''The Confederates: A farce. London: R. Burleigh, 1717. * Three Hours After Marriage (with Alexander Pope & John Arbuthnot). London: 1717. *''The Captives: A tragedy''. London: J. Tonson, 1724. * Acis and Galatea: An English pastoral opera, in three acts (with music by George Handel). (1718). London: J. Watts, 1732. * The Beggar's Opera (with music by Johann Christoph Pepusch). London: J. Barker, 17--?; London: H. Wentworth, 17--?; 3rd edition, S. Powell for George Risk, George Ewing, & William Smith, 1728. * Polly: An opera: Being the second part of 'The beggar's opera'. London: James Watson & Samuel Aris for T. Thomson, 1729. *''Achilles: An opera'' (with music by J. Pepusch & A. Corelli). London & Dublin: George Faulkner, 1733. * The Distress'd Wife: A comedy. London: Thomas Astley, 1743. *''The Rehearsal at Goatham''. London: T. Astley, 1754. *''Plays Written by Mr. John Gay''. London: J. & R. Tonson, 1760. *''The Plays of John Gay''. (2 volumes), London: Chapman & Dodd, 1923. *''Dramatic Works'' (edited by John Fuller). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press / New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Non-fiction * The Present State of Wit: In a letter to a friend in the country. London: 1711 Collected editions *''Poetry and Prose'' (edited by Vinton A. Dearing). (2 volumes), Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1974. Letters *Lewis Melville, Life and Letters of John Gay. London: Daniel O'Connor, 1921.Life and Letters of John Gay, Project Gutenberg. Web, Feb. 20, 2016. *''Letters'' (edited by C.F. Burgess), Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press, 1966. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:John Gay, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Feb. 20, 2016. See also *Fable *List of British poets *List of English-language playwrights References * . Wikisource, Web, Jan. 16, 2018. * * * Notes External links ;Poems *"The Frozen Thames" * "Song (O ruddier than the cherry)" * Selected Poetry of John Gay (1685-1732) (6 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. * John Gay at the Poetry Foundation *Gay in The English Poets: An anthology: [http://www.bartleby.com/337/641.html Extract from The Shepherd's Week], [http://www.bartleby.com/337/642.html A Ballad from The What d’ye Call It], "The Hare with Many Friends," "Black-Eyed Susan" *John Gay (1685-1732) info & 14 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 * John Gay at PoemHunter (37 poems) *John Gay at Poetry Nook (347 poems) ;Books * * ;About *John Gay in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Biography of John Gay at the University of Michigan * John Gay at NNDB *Gay, John (1685-1732) in the Dictionary of National Biography * John Gay (1685-1732) at Luminarium: Life, extensive collection of works, study resources. *John Gay at Westminster Abbey. *Gay in the Cambridge History of English and American Literature: John Gay and his early literary efforts. [http://www.bartleby.com/219/0612.html The Beggars Opera and Polly], Gay's Love of Ease; His Friends * Original article is at " Gay, John" Category:1685 births Category:1732 deaths Category:English poets Category:English vegetarians Category:Fabulists Category:English dramatists and playwrights Category:Opera librettists Category:Burials at Westminster Abbey Category:People from Barnstaple Category:18th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets